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Brandon Marshall says his formula for winning 'might be a little different' than the one used by Tony Sparano and Dan Henning / Allen Eyestone, Post staff

Brandon Marshall has been patient and measured in his responses this year, even though the season hasn’t unfolded the way he expected.

Marshall has just one touchdown and two 100-yard performances in the Dolphins’ first eight games, and had his lowest output of the season in Sunday’s loss to the Bengals, catching five passes for a measly 30 yards.

Finally, Sunday, Marshall expressed some frustration over the way the Dolphins’ season is unfolding and at the coaching staff’s plan to win – limit mistakes, run the football and play sound defense.

“This is my first year here and coach (Dan) Henning and coach (Tony) Sparano’s formula for winning might be a little different than where I come from,” Marshall said Sunday. “I’m fine with that, but it becomes a problem when we’re losing.”

The Dolphins have now lost two of their past three games, and their playoff hopes are hurt by a 2-4 overall record against the AFC. They have the AFC’s lowest-scoring offense (143 points, 17.9 per game), just four passes over 30 yards all season (three to Brian Hartline), and Marshall has just 15 catches for 151 combined over his past three games.

And Miami isn’t winning any games against tough teams. The opponent’s record of their four wins (Vikings, Packers, Bills, Bengals): 11-21. The opponent’s record of their four losses (Steelers, Jets, Pats, Ravens): 23-8.

“It’s obvious right now we can’t beat the great teams — we can’t beat the good teams,”

Marshall, who does have 52 catches for 618 yards this year, knows he can do more for the Dolphins, especially in the end zone. He stopped short, though, of blaming Henning for not giving him the ball.

“I know I’m capable of doing some things to get our offense a little spark,” said Marshall, who cost the Dolphins two second-round picks and $24 million guaranteed in a contract extension. “But again, coach Henning’s been in this league for a while now, and his formula for winning and getting the offense on the right track is his way of doing things. And he’s been successful.”

Marshall wasn’t the only player upset on Sunday. Safety Yeremiah Bell, the defensive captain, called out his unit for being in the wrong place at the wrong time throughout Sunday’s game and missing nearly a dozen tackles, though he didn’t single out anyone in particular.

“It seemed like we were just playing for ourselves. We didn’t play team defense,” Bell said. “If everybody’s in the right spot and running to the ball like you’re supposed to be, a missed tackle could be made up for. We’ve got people out of place, so when somebody misses a tackle, it’s much bigger than it’s supposed to be. We just need to get back to playing assignment football and team defense.”